9,638 Shares in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) Purchased by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,638 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,702,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Kadant at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Kadant by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 66,615 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,025,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Kadant by 17.5% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 154,252 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,792,000 after acquiring an additional 22,978 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kadant in the third quarter worth about $695,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kadant by 24.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in Kadant by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 30,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,915,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas C. Leonard sold 217 shares of Kadant stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.81, for a total transaction of $70,266.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,080 shares in the company, valued at $3,587,814.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jonathan W. Painter sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $2,311,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,514,853.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,798 shares of company stock worth $2,899,004 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KAI shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Kadant in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Kadant in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Kadant Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE KAI traded up $5.60 on Friday, hitting $272.46. 100,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,557. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $307.75 and a 200 day moving average of $282.83. Kadant Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.95 and a twelve month high of $354.02. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 1.30.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $248.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.56 million. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 11.53%. The business's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kadant Inc. will post 10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kadant Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Kadant's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Kadant Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.